BY MARK STRODER
LAKE ELSINORE — It’s easy for a hitter to become distracted against Hemet pitcher Cheyenne Gandara. Before each pitch, she jiggles and wiggles in the circle. She also shuffles the ball in her right hand over and over. “It keeps me pumped up,” Gandara said of her methodical routine. “It keeps me going. Keeps the pace going fast for me.” Then comes the really difficult part: Trying to hit the ball after all of that razzle-dazzle. Gandara put on an impressive show Tuesday, tossing a two-hitter — and driving in all four runs — in Hemet’s 4-0 victory over Temescal Canyon in the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division 4 softball playoffs. The Bulldogs (24-5) will host No. 2 seeded Ventura Buena in the quarterfinals on Thursday. Gandara, who will play for Charleston Southern University next season, was the ultimate dual threat on Tuesday. She allowed only two singles and two walks — all in the first two innings. “All my pitches were working, especially my riseball,” said Gandara, who recorded one strikeout in each of her seven innings. “I was mixing it all in well.” She was just as dominant with a bat. She had RBI singles in the third and the fifth, before clubbing a two-run homer to deep left field in the seventh. “I was trying to hit singles, but those just come,” Gandara said after hitting her ninth home run of the year. “I liked it. It was exciting.” The Titans (17-11) loaded the bases with one out in the first. But Gandara retired the next two hitters. “All that waiting makes you more and more anxious to hit,” said Temescal Canyon freshman slugger Emma Bordenkecher, who led the Titans with 27 runs batted in, and hit four home runs. “If you’re sitting and waiting and anticipating, it just makes it harder to hit.” Gandara allowed only one runner over the final five innings, and that was the result of an error. Waiting for Gandara to deliver may be the hardest part of the at-bat. “I think it threw our timing off a little bit,” Titans coach Daniel Bosna said. “She did a phenomenal job of just setting us up. We were playing mind games with ourselves.” The Bulldogs’ 13-hit attack included four singles by junior outfielder Amanda Izzo. Junior shortstop Taylor VanZee improved her season batting average to an eyepopping .691 after collecting three hits and three runs scored.Hemet Baseball also won 11-1 over San Pedro Mary Star. Both teams now move into the quarter final games.